Jet dyeing and washing apparatus

ABSTRACT

Apparatus to ensure accurate positional alignment of a multijet spray washer to clean out the dye jets of an automatic dyeing system. A guide system is provided to positively align the dye jet spray washing apparatus.

July 1, 1975 United States Patent n91 Klein et al.

[541 JET DYEING AND WASHING APPARATUS 3,571,840 3/l97l Gleatonet a].l5/3l2 R [75] Inventors: Norman E. Klein, lnman', Herbert R. FOREIGNPATENTS OR APPLICATIONS King, Spartanburg, both of SC.

Deering Milliken Research l,024,683 3/1966 United Kingdom.........v...l34/l67 R [73] Assignee:

Corporation, Spartanburg, SC.

May 17, 1974 Primary ExaminerRicharci E. Aegerter Assistant ExaminerL.Foottand [22] Filed:

Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Luke J. Wilburn, Jr.; H. William Petry App].No.: 471,121

T C A R T S B A 5 20 O U w I 9 CB3 ;MU C RC 7-, 5@ H1 10 45D em i01 RBmm C a W 8 m6 n m 6 m m m m a C I t. U.mF HUM 555 Apparatus to ensureaccurate positional alignment of a multijet spray washer to clean outthe dye jets of an automatic dyeing system. A guide system is provided[56] References cued to positively align the dye jet spray washingapparatus.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,218.8 l0/l940 Chaussabel 68/205 R 11 Claims, 5Drawing Figures SHEET 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 l 1 1 I 1 l l I 1 1 1 1 l 1 L- c fJET DYEING AND WASHING APPARATUS Therefore an object of the invention isto provide an apparatus which is accurately located relative to the dyejets of a dyeing and printing jet spray gun bar.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become clearlyapparent as the specification proceeds to describe the invention withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the overall dyeing and printing apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the upper end of the dyeingapparatus showing one row of jets in a gun bar and back washer jetsincluding traversing carriage;

FIG. 3 is a top view of FIG. 4 showing the back washer;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of one of the back washer water supplymanifolds and support; and

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the back washer tracking arrangement toprovide highly accurate linear transport motion for multiple back washjets that can be used as a means of checking dye jet position.

Looking now to FIG. 1 the overall apparatus will be explained. Fabric 12to be jet dyed is supplied from carpet roll 14, mounted on a suitableroll stand 16, over a pin wheel 18 onto a conveying system 16 under thedye jet gun bar system 19 downwardly to a dancer roll system 20. Fromthe system 20 the dyed carpet is fed successively through the steamchamber 22, washer 24, dryer 26 and taken up in a roll 28 mounted onanother suitable take-up stand 30.

In a manner generally shown in FIG. 2 and disclosed in co-pending Pat.application Ser. No. 430,528, filed Jan. 3, l974, the jet washerassembly 33 is coordinated to clean out the debris and dyestutf from thedye orifices 32 when desired. It is desired to have a single jet washer33 for each row of dye jet gun bars 34 and to provide an arrangementwhere the dye jets 32 can be accurately aligned with the jet washer toensure cleaning of the jet dye orifice.

To this end is provided a carriage arrangement as shown schematically inF IG. 5 which ensures that the jet washers 33 are properly aligned andthe support arrangement is counterbalanced to prevent distortion of thejet washer support.

Initially the rigid guide member or track 36 is exactly lined up inposition while the lower track 38 acts merely as an elevation supportfor the lower end of the runner array for the support track. To this endis provided an upper trolley member 40 and a lower trolley member 42which support therebetween a carrier system composed of water manifoldbars 44 and 46 which traverse across the width of the machine 18 tosupport and supply water or other suitable fluid to multiple back washjets. Each of the trolleys 40 and 42 support rotably mounted pulleys.Trolley 40 has pulleys 50, 52, 54 and S6 and trolley 42 has pulleys 58,60, 62 and 64. To guide the trolley members and consequently the watermanifold bars 44 and 46 are cables 66 and 68.

Cable 68 is fixed at one end to frame portion 70 and at the other end toframe portion 72 and in between is guided successively over pulleys 50,54, 60 and 58. Cable 66 is fixed at one end to frame portion 74 and atthe other end to frame portion 76 and is being guided in between bypulleys 52, 56, 62 and 64. From this cable arrangement it can be readilyseen that the manifold bars 44 and 46 will be held in correct alignmentdue to the counter action of the cables 66 and 68 against each other.

The trolleys 40 and 42 are mounted, as noted before, on bars 36 and 38so that they can be slid across the width of the jet gun bars 34 so eachdye jet 32 can be cleaned by the jet washer 33. As further describedthere will be one jet washer for each row of dye jets 34 and can bemanifolded in sets, such as shown in FIG. 3 or can be individuallymounted. Each jet washer preferably consists of a high pressure waterjet 70 directed concentrically into the dye jet 32 and a lower pressurewater jet 72 to spray water around the jet area to clean debristherefrom.

In the preferred form of the invention the jet washer 33 is mounted totwo plates 74 and 76 secured on the manifolds 44 and 46 by suitablebolts 78. The top plate 76 for reasons hereinafter explained, iselongated and has a slot 80 therein which can be positioned by adjustment of screws 82 in slots 84. The water jets 70 and 72 are mounted andprojected upwardly through the slot or large opening 86 in the upperplate so they can be laterally adjusted.

ln setting up the device the high pressure jets 70 are adjusted so thatthe center of the slot 80 is in line with and perpendicular to thecenterline of the high pressure jet 70 so that when the distance betweencorresponding dye jets 32 on adjacent gun bars has been selected the jetwasher jet 70 will be directly in line with its respective dye jet 32.This can be used to check the position of the dye jets since when thejet system is moved the required amount of distance across the frame,liquid dye on water, if preferred to be used in place of dye in thesystem during gun bar alignment, can be supplied to the selected dye jet32 and if it is in proper position a stream of liquid dye or water canbe observed projecting undeflected down through the slot 80. Ifnecessary the dye jet 32 can be repositioned until this condition occursand repeated until all the dye jets are properly positioned with respectto the high pressure water jets 70.

In the preferred form of the invention water is supplied into themanifolds 44 and 46, as by a flexible water supply line (not shown), anddelivered into the washer jets 70 and 72 by suitable hoses 88 but anyother suitable means of water supply can be used within the scope of theinvention. Also, suitable adjusting bolts 90 and 92 can be used to alignor realign the shafts 36 and 38 but other suitable means can also beused. The jet washer system of the present invention may be utilized notonly to clean the gun bar orifices, but also to properly align the dyejet gun bars of the gun bar system. To align the gun bars, the pluralityof jet washers 33 corresponding to the number of gun bars will besecured on the manifolds 44 and 46. The distance between the slots 80 ineach of the jet washers 33 is then adjusted to the distance desired tobe main tained between each gun bar. The gun bars are then adjusted sothat the streams of dye emitted by the individ ual jet orifices alongeach bar fire through the slots 80 of their respective jet washer whenthe washer system is traversed along the rods 36 and 38. When all of thegun bars have been aligned to fire through their respective slots 80,and the water jets 70 of the respective washers are also aligned withthe slots, the orifices of the gun bars will be aligned with each otherand with the water jets 70 to permit proper backwash of the orificesduring traverse of the washer system.

When it is desired to clean out one of the dye jets 32 the jet washersystem 33 is slid or traversed along the rods 36 and 38 by any suitablemechanical or automatic means to the correct position under thepreselected dye jet 32 and stopped if necessary. A supply of water isthen supplied from the jets 70 and 72 into and onto the dye jet 32 untilthe jet has been thoroughly cleaned. This operation is repeatedsuccessively until all the desired dye jets have been cleaned. lt isunderstood that under normal conditions all the dye jets in amultiplicity of gun bars, which are in line, are cleaned simultaneouslyand the carriage is moved progressively across the machine until all thedye jets have been cleaned. If desired, a cleaner or solvent can beadded to the water supply to aid in cleaning of the dye jets.

It can be readily seen that only the preferred embodiment has beendescribed but we desire to be limited only by the scope of the dependingclaims.

That which is claimed is:

1. Apparatus to jet dye a moving material comprising a line of jet dyeorifices, means to move the material in operative relation with saidline of jet dye orifices, spaced supporting track means extendingsubstantially parallel to said line of jet dye orifices, traversingsupport means mounted on and extending between said supporting trackmeans for movement there along, a cable system interconnecting the endsof said traversing support means to maintain them in their same relativepositions to each other during their movement along said supportingtrack means, at least one jet cleaner mounted on said traversing supportmeans between said supporting track means and in line with said line ofjet dye orifices, means to supply cleaning liquid to the jet cleaner andmeans to traverse said jet cleaner along the line of jet dye orifices.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said traversing support meansmounting said jet cleaner includes a pair of manifold members mountedsubstantially perpendicular to the line of dye jet orifices, a pair ofplate members mounted on said manifold members, said jet cleaner beingoperably associated with one of said plate members in line with saidline of jet dye orifices, and wherein said means for supplying cleaningliquid to the jet cleaner includes conduit means connecting the jetcleaner to said manifold members, and means for supplying cleaningliquid to said manifold members.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein one of said plate members has anelongated slot therein in alignment with said jet cleaner orifice toprovide a means to align the individual jet dye orifices in the linewith the jet dye orifices.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 including a plurality of lines of jetdye orifices positioned in spaced generally parallel relation, and a jetcleaner mounted on said traversing support means positioned in line witheach of said lines of jet dye orifices to supply cleaning liquidthereto.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said jet cleaner includes at leasttwo jets with one jet directed directly into the jet dye orifices andthe other directed at an angle thereto.

6. Apparatus to jet dye a moving web of material comprising: a line ofjet dye orifices, means to move a web of material in operativerelationship with said line of jet dye orifices, at least a pair ofsupporting shafts substantially parallel to said line of jet dyeorifices, a traversing support means slidably mounted on each of saidsupporting shafts, at least two manifold shafts interconnected betweensaid traversing support means substantially perpendicular to said lineof jet orifices, a cable system interconnecting said traversing supportmeans to prevent distortion of said manifold shafts, a jet cleanermounted on said manifold shafts in line with said line of jet dyeorifices, means to supply cleaning liquid to the jet cleaner and meansto traverse said jet cleaner parallel to the line of jet dye orifices.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said jet cleaner includes at leasttwo cleaning jets with one cleaning jet directed directly into the jetdye orifices and the other directed at an angle thereto.

8. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said apparatus includes at leastfour spaced apart frame members forming generally a rectangular shape,said cable system including at least two cables with the ends of eachcable being fixed to diametrically opposite corners of said framemembers.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein each of said traversing supportmeans includes a pulley system to guide the cables to the respectiveframe support members.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said jet cleaner includes at leasttwo cleaning jets with one cleaning jet directed directly into the jetdye orifices and the other directed at an angle thereto.

1 l. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said apparatus includes at leasttwo lines of jet dye orifices and at least one jet cleaner for each lineof jet dye orifices connected to said manifold shafts.

t l t UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 99 Dated y 97 In e mfl Norman E, Klein and Herbert R. King It iscertified that error appears in the above-identified patent and thatsaid Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 2, line 32, the word "on" should read --or--.

Signed and Scalcd this Twenty-second Day Of March 1977 [SEAL] Arrest:

RUTH C. MASON C. MARSHALL DANN ANPSYl-"S ff Commissioner of Parent: andTrademarks

1. Apparatus to jet dye a moving material comprising a line of jet dyeorifices, means to move the material in operative relation with saidline of jet dye orifices, spaced supporting track means extendingsubstantially parallel to said line of jet dye orifices, traversingsupport means mounted on and extending between said supporting trackmeans for movement there along, a cable system interconnecting the endsof said traversing support means to maintain them in their same relativepositions to each other during their movement along said supportingtrack means, at least one jet cleaner mounted on said traversing supportmeans between said supporting track means and in line with said line ofjet dye orifices, means to supply cleaning liquid to the jet cleaner andmeans to traverse said jet cleaner along the line of jet dye orifices.2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said traversing support meansmounting said jet cleaner includes a pair of manifold members mountedsubstantially perpendicular to the line of dye jet orifices, a pair ofplate members mounted on said manifold members, said jet cleaner beingoperably associated with one of said plate members in line with saidline of jet dye orifices, and wherein said means for supplying cleaningliquid to the jet cleaner includes conduit means connecting the jetcleaner to said manifold members, and means for supplying cleaningliquid to said manifold members.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein oneof said plate members has an elongated slot therein in alignment withsaid jet cleaner orifice to provide a means to align the individual jetdye orifices in the line with the jet dye orifices.
 4. Apparatus asdefined in claim 1 including a plurality of lines of jet dye orificespositioned in spaced generally parallel relation, and a jet cleanermounted on said traversing support means positioned in line with each ofsaid lines of jet dye orifices to supply cleaning liquid thereto.
 5. Theapparatus of claim 1 wherein said jet cleaner includes at least two jetswith one jet directed directly into the jet dye orifices and the otherdirected at an angle thereto.
 6. Apparatus to jet dye a moving web ofmaterial comprising: a line of jet dye orifices, means to move a web ofmaterial in operative relationship with said line of jet dye orifices,at least a pair of supporting shafts substantially parallel to said lineof jet dye orifices, a traversing support means slidably mounted on eachof said supporting shafts, at least two manifold shafts interconnectedbetween said traversing support means substantially perpendicular tosaid line of jet orifices, a cable system interconnecting saidtraversing support means to prevent distortion of said manifold shafts,a jet cleaner mounted on said manifold shafts in line with said line ofjet dye orifices, means to supply cleaning liquid to the jet cleaner andmeans to traverse said jet cleaner parallel to the line of jet dyeorifices.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said jet cleaner includesat least two cleaning jets with one cleaning jet directed directly intothe jet dye orifices and the other directed at an angle thereto.
 8. Theapparatus of claim 6 wherein said apparatus includes at least fourspaced apart frame members forming generally a rectAngular shape, saidcable system including at least two cables with the ends of each cablebeing fixed to diametrically opposite corners of said frame members. 9.The apparatus of claim 8 wherein each of said traversing support meansincludes a pulley system to guide the cables to the respective framesupport members.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said jet cleanerincludes at least two cleaning jets with one cleaning jet directeddirectly into the jet dye orifices and the other directed at an anglethereto.
 11. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said apparatus includes atleast two lines of jet dye orifices and at least one jet cleaner foreach line of jet dye orifices connected to said manifold shafts.